Watchdog organisation Corruption Watch this week says in their annual report they are encouraged by the increased number of incidents of corruption being reported to them.
in recognition, trade union Solidarity says it is significant that South Africa’s ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has improved from 67th in 2014 to 61st position in 2015. This is partly due to the work of Corruption Watch, the media and civil society.
Senior Researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute, Dr Eugene Brink, says it is encouraging that the public is increasingly blowing the whistle on corruption and is putting up a fight against it. “More and more state departments, including Home Affairs, have introduced more and better plans to combat corruption and those plans are achieving results.”
According to Brink the report is indicative of the fact that citizens are insisting on more and higher accountability and that people are tired of unpunished behaviour associated with the abuse of power.
“The report shows that in 2015, fewest corruption complaints were lodged against local government (16%) in comparison with national government (24%) and provincial governments (26%). However, a further category (34%) that includes institutions such as schools and state-controlled enterprises received the most complaints,” Brink explains.
According to Brink, the abuse of power, which includes financial mismanagement, is considered to be the most prevalent type of corruption and in this regard schools are described as a major concern. “What is important, is that high-level corruption (such as Nkandla) committed by President Jacob Zuma and his cronies is receiving more and more attention and is generating more and more disapproval as opposed to everyday bribery. The role of civil society, opposition parties and the media protesting against corruption by means of articles, reports, court cases and protest marches should not be underestimated.”
